Furnace-arch and coking-shelf structure



May 10,1927.

(3. J. HUBER FURNACE Anon AND comm SHELF STRUCTURE Filed JunE 5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1,627,741 y 1927' c. J.- Hl JBER FURNACE ARCH AND COKING SHELF STRUCTURE Filed June 5 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1,627,741 May 7' c. J. HUBER FURNACE ARCH AND COKING SHELF STRUCTURE Filed June 5. 1924 I5 Sheets-SheetS Patented May 10, 1927.

UNITED STATES CHARLES J. HUBER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FURNACE-ARCH AND COKING-SHELF STRUCTURE.

Application filed June 5,

The invention relates to a furnace structure particularly to the arch construction and coking shelf, the latter as per my copending application for United States patent Serial No. 652,521, filed July 19,

These parts, i. e., the arch and the coking shelf, are so placed that they are subjected to the highest temperatures occurring in the furnace, as they receive heat both by radiation from the hottest part of the fire and are in direct contact with the burning gases, and must therefore be made of highly resistive materials as fire brick. All metal parts must be protected. The arches and the coking l5 shelf described in my application have previously been constructed of fire bricks having grooves in the sides near the top by means of which the fire bricks are suspended on suitable T iron supports which extend between the bricks, the cross-bar of the T engaging the grooves in the bricks. However, it frequently happens that owing to overheating or to sudden changes of temperature, or to contact of the fire brick with the stoker bar, that a brick is cracked adjacent the groove and falls into the fire or part of it falls, with the result that one or more holes are opened in the arch. Often the metal supports being thus exposed, are burned and warped to such an extent that the fire bricks cannot be replaced. The majority of such arch supports are also open to the objection that a considerable space is necessary between the arch and any overlying structure, as fioor timbers and the like, as the fire bricks or T irons supporting them are suspended from steel girders or beams placed above the arch.

The object of the invention is to provide a type of arch and coking shelf constructed of metal and fire brick whereby the metal supports are fully protected and disintegration of the arch and shelf, due to falling of the arch bricks or fire bricks is avoided.

bricks which form the arch or coking shelf are of tapered or wedge-shaped cross-section with the wide end or butt of the wedge at the top. The bricks are tapered down to a point near the bottom below which point their width is again increased, either forming a slight flange or an outward curve to- In accordance with my invention the fire 1924. Serial No. 717,939.

ward the lower edge, and the bricks are sup 'orted by thin elongated su ports of we ge-shaped cross-section which t between the bricks and occupy the wedge-shaped cavity formed between the bricks by placing the latter side by side with the oppositely inclined surfaces juxtaposed, the wider. edge of the wedge-shaped support being in this instance turned downward. This arrange ment of the fire bricks presents a continuous surface of fire brick to the fire, the supports being completely covered by the flanges .or shoulders at the lower edges of the bricks.

As the coking shelf and arch illustrated have ex osed surfaces curved upwardly substantial y at a right angle tothe bottom surfaces of these members, some of the bricks are formed with correspondingly curved surfaces and the bricks are correspondingly flanged, whereby the metal supporting members are protected both from beneath and from the direction of the rear of the furnace and from the various intervening angles.

An important feature of the structure is that the bricks are supported even in the flat arch by a wedging action which eliminates all chance of the bricks fallingfrom the arch even when cracked, for breaking even at. the bottom edge adjacent the support can only release a small portion of the brick and can only expose a small portion of the support.

Another important feature is that the arch so constructed even though it be a flat arch, is completely supported within itself, requiring no suspension from overhead beams as in the previously existing structure.

The disclosure also includes a device whereby the fire bricks are secured to the supports when placed thereon and displacement thereafter prevented.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated the details of a furnace structure in accordance with my invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of the front of the furnace looking from the inside showing the arch and coking shelf in elevation.

Figure 2. is a fragmentary longitudinal section, i. e., a section at right angles to Figure 1 and on the line 2, 2, Figure 1, showing the arch and coking shelf structure.

Figure 3 is a plan of the coking-shelf, a portion of the same being broken away to illustrate the details of the metal supports for the shelf.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4, 4 of Figure 3 ShOWing, one of the metal supports in elevation.

Figure 5 is a perspective View showing one of the end bricks used in the construction of a coking shelf and one of the inside bricks se arated for convenience of illustration ut having their corresponding edges in alignment and in the relation which they occupy in the finished structure.

Figure 6 is a section through the coking shelf taken transversely of the furnace on the line-6, 6 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is an enlarged elevation of the coking shelf looking from inside the furnace toward the front.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is used'to indicate the same or similar parts in the different figures, the furnace structure shown includes the arch 1 and the coking shelf 2.

The important feature of both the coking shelf and the arch is that they are built up of fire-bricks 4, 5 6, which are in effect wedge-shaped, and correspondingly oppo sitely disposed wed e -shaped metal sup orts 7 and 8 between tIie inclined faces 0 the 'bricks which metal supports are protected b a flan or ro'ectin ortion of the fire bi' icks, sift thei bdttom the inside bricks and 10 at the rear or exposed surface of the front bricks.

It will be obvious that the coking shelf and arch thus constructed are in effect selfsup ortin owing to the combined action of t e we ges, but for convenience in assembling, the metal wedges 7 of the coking shelf are suspended from the hopper bottom 11 or other suitable and available supporting means in any convenient manner, the support shown consisting of an upright 12 having a tapered head 14 at the top, the uprights 12 being passed into longitudinal slots 15 in the end ed e of the hopper floor, and the tapered hea s 14 being seated in tapered enlarged portions 16 at the top of the slots. Rocking of the support is prevented by a horizontal arm 17 having a head 18 which projects upwardly from the arm and bears against the bottom of the hopper floor. In the form shown this head is passed through a slot 19 in a depending flange 20 and hooked over the edge of the slot as shown in Fig. 4.

Figure 4 illustrates in detail the manner of supporting the cokin shelf and Figure 2 illustrates the complete structure. In the illustration of Figure 2 I have shown a covering of fire clay 21 on top of the shelf serving to protect the cast iron wedges 7, particularly as to the upper ed es of the wedge members which would ot erwise be exposed and the upright portion 12 thereof by which the wedges are suspended.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate in detail an additional feature of the wedge-shaped supports 7, which is of interest. In order to retain the fire bricks in position on the supports, the latter are coated with fire-clay cement before placing the bricks in position thereon and to make the bond between the cement and the wedges more effective, the latter are provided with a series of barbwire ribs 24 which are inclined at an acute angle as to their lateral surfaces at 25 toward the rear of the furnace which is the direction from which the fire-bricks are inserted, the opposite faces 26 of the. ribs being substantialy at right angles to the direction of the length of the support and of the motion of the brick as it is inserted. The supports having been coated with cement and the-bricks placed thereon, and the cement permitted to harden, the bond is suflicient to prevent removal of the bricks without special effort to, break the bond.

Figure 4 illustrates the flange on the edges of the exposed surfaces of the bricks turned up at 10 along the curved faces of the outside or front bricks, the supports or wedges 7 being likewise curved at the corresponding end at 27 and reduced to an edge at this end for convenience in inserting the bricks. A

In Figures 1 and 2 I have illustrated an arch of similar external appearance and function to that illustrated in my co-pendin application No. 652,521 of July 19, 192:? This consists of a line of fire-bricks 6 placed in contact side by side and extending across the furnace immediately over the coking shelf. These fire-bricks 6 are of considerably greater vertical extent than the firebricks 4, 5 composing the coking shelf but are similarly formed of wedge-shaped crosssection and with a bottom and front flange 29 curved on an are extending along the rear face andwhich merges in the vertical front face 30. The arch bricks 6 having converging inclined side faces 31, as afore said, and the flanges 29 at the bottom and front, are supported by oppositely inclined metal wedge members 8, i. e., the wedges taper opposite] to the taper of the bricks and are placed etween the inclined surfaces of the adjacent bricks. These metal wedge members 8 are protected by the flanges 29 which meet or substantially meet and are supported by upright shanks 32 having head portions 33, the shanks 32 being inserted in slots 34 in a horizontal flange 35 formedat the top of the hopper back. The slots 34 have chamfered top portions 36 cooperating with bottom faces of the heads 33 of the Inn shanks 32 which may be also inclined. The wedge members 8 are also provided with hori zontal arms 37 projectin through the hopper back through suitable s ots 38 and engaging the bottom surface of a flan e 39 on the hopper back on the front si e thereof.

The supports 7 and 8 it will be noted are in effect hooks or suspension members having heads 14 and 33, respectively, and shanks l2 and 32 conneecting the heads to the wedges or supporting members proper 7 and 8, and positioning arms 17 and 37 which-are passed through slots 19 and 38, in the hopper front structure, the respective arms having hooks or heads 18 and 40 at the forward ends of they respective arms, which heads are engaged over the ends of the slots 19 and 38 bearing against the bottom surface of the hopper floor 11 and the flan e39 of the hopper backrespectively.

The structure has the advantages previously recited that the bricks are held for almost the entire depth as a result of the cooperating Wedges by side pressure, which is efi'ective to prevent falling of the bricks even when they have become to a consider. able extent disintegrated, and under conditions which in the previous structure would 'cause them to fall into the furnace, leaving an opening in the arch or top wall with consequent loss of draft, danger of destruction of the building by fire, and exposure of the metal supports to burning.

The feature regarding the support'of the bricks by side pressure due to. the wedging action which prevents falling of the bricks under almost any conditions which are apt to exist in the furnace, and the protection by the bricks of the metal supports. is common to all the various structures described and shown in the foregoing specification and drawings.

To assemble the structure shown in Figures 1 to 7, constituting the coking shelf and arch, the wedge supports 7 and 8 are first placed in position by passing the hooked ends or heads 18 and 40 through the slots 19 and 38, and inserting the shanks 12 and 32 in the slots 15 and 34, permitting the heads 14 and 33 to rest in the chamfered or enlarged portion 16 and 36 at the top of the respective slots. At this stage of the assembling operation the central planes of the wedge supports 7 and 8 are parallel and vertical, and extend backward from the hopper wall toward the rear of the furnace, the narrow edges of the wedges being upward and the wider edges or butts downward. The fire bricks 4, 5 and 6 are then coated with cement consisting of fire clay or other suitable material placed in the grooves or longitudinal depressions and 66 above the flanges 9, 10 and 29, or the wedge members 7 and 8 are suitably coated with such cementitious material or either one of said memthe invention being and 8 are entered into the depressions 65.

above the flanges 9 and 29 respectively.-

Having reference to Figure 5, the straight bricks 4 are shown as chamfered alon the top edge at 68 for a suflicient distance rom the front end toward the rear to accommodate the shanks 12, and the bricks .6 may be similarly formed. This leaves the top edge 69 substantially intact for the protection of the top edge portions of the wedges. When the cement has set, the structure becomes permanent and none of the bricks can be dislodged without breaking the bond whichcannot be done without a considerable effort directed at this particular result.

The description relates to the specific details of the applicants preferred structure, so that the nature and operation of the same may be clearly understood; however, the specific terms herein are. usedv descriptively rather than in a limitin sense, the scope of y de ned in the claims. What I claim an desire to secure byLetters Patent is: I

1. In a furnace, a structure for coking shelves, arches, baflles and the like, consistin of a series of bricks having the opposite si e walls in downwardly converging relation to a point near the bottom where the lateral dimension is increased, forming a lateral projection, said lateral projection extending along each bottom edge, andas to some of the bricks said projecting portion extending upward along the end surface, the bricks being placed side by side with the inclined surfaces opposite and the projecting portions substantially in contact, the bricks having the projecting portion extending along the end surface being placed to-' ward the file, and supports for the bricks occupying the tapering spaces thus formed between the bricks, the supports being cor respondingly tapered, said supports being protected at the bottom and end by said projecting portions, each support having an upwardly projecting shank and forwardly extending arm, the furnace being provided with a transverse support and the shank having means engaging said support from above, and the forward y extending arm engagin thesupport from beneath.

2. structure for coking shelves and furnace arches comprising a series of down;

taper, and a ceramic cement serving to at-' tach the bricks to the support.

3. In a furnace, a structure to serve as a coking shelf or arch, consisting of a series of fire bricks having the lateral faces thereof inclined and converging toward the bottom, a flange projecting laterally at the bottom of each inclined surface, the bricks being placed side by side with the inclined surfaces opposite each other and the flanges substantially in contact, and an elongated support of wedge-shaped cross-section havin an upwardlv reducing taper between the bricks, the sai supports extending longitudinally of the furnace, a member extendin laterally across the furnace above the bricks, and having a slot over each support, each support having an upright shank to fit the corresponding slot, with a lateral extension at the top to engage said transverse member from above, and a forwardly projecting arm also engaging said transverse member to position the structure and balance it, the greater extent of the bricks being to V the rear of the upright.

4. In a furnace, a structure to serve as a coking shelf or an arch, consisting of a series of fire bricks having the lateral faces thereof inclined and converging toward the bottom. a flange projecting laterally at the bottom of each inclined surface, the bricks being placed side by side with the inclined surfaces opposite each other and the flanges substantially in contact, and an elongated support of wedge-shapedcross-section having an upwardly reducing taper between the bricks, a member extending laterally across the furnace above the bricks and having a slot over each support with an enlarged portion at the top, each support having an upright shank to fit the corresponding slot, and a head portion at the top to fit the enlarged portion of the slot, and a forwardly projecting arm engaging beneath said transverse member to position the structure and balance it, the greater extent of the said brick structure being to the rear of the upright, the bottom flange or projecting portion extending up the front of the brick and the flange serving to protect the metal support from the fire.

5. In a furnace, a coking shelf composed of -firebricks having two opposite lateral surfaces converging toward the bottom, and a laterally projecting flange at the bottom of each said inclined surface, said bricks being placed with the inclined sides oppo-- sides extending in the forward and aft direction of the furnace, oppositel tapered metal supports between said inc ined surfaces and protected by the flanges, which extend upwardly across the rear face of the coking shelf, each said metal support having an upwardly projecting shank, the furnace having a laterally extending member to be engaged from above by said shank, and a layer' of fire clay on the coking shelf pr0- tecting the shanks.

6. A structure for coking shelves and furnace arches comprisin a series of downwardly tapered fire brlcks and a series of correspondingly and oppositely tapered supports. the bricks being placed'side by side with the inclined faces opposite each other and the supports being placed between the bricks, a'transverse support for the structure, the tapered supports each having a shank with a head engaging said transverse support from above and a forwardly extending arm engaging the transverse support from beneath.

7. A structure for coking shelves and furnace arches comprising a series of downwardly taiered fire bricks, the taper extending substantially the entire thickness of thebricks, and a series of correspondingly and oppositely tapered separate and independent supports, the bricks being placed side by side with the inclined faces opposite each other. and the supports being placed between and in contact with the inclined faces of the bricks, a transverse support for the structure, each tapered support havin a shank with means for applying the welght of the structure to the transverse support,-

and means engaging the transverse support from beneath to prevent swinging of the bricks.

8. A structure for coking shelves and furnace arches comprising a series of bricks placed side by side and having downwardly disposed engaging surfaces on the adjacent sides of the neighboring bricks and separate and independent supports between the bricks, each said support having upwardly disposed supportin surfaces to cooperate with the downwartly disposed surfaces of the bricks, a transverse support for the structure having slots for the separate supports, each said separate support having a shank extending through said slot and a bead engaging said transverse support from above, and means engaging the transverse support from beneath to prevent swinging of the bricks in one direction.

9. A structure for coking shelves and furnace arches comprising a series of bricks placed side by side and having downwardly disposed engagin surfaces on the adjacent sides of the'nelgh boring bricks andseparate and independent supports between the bricks, each said support having upwardly disposed supporting surfaces to cooperate with the downwardly disposed surfaces of the bricks, a transverse support for the structure, each said tapered support having a shank with means for applying the weight of the structure t0 the transverse support, and an arm at an angle to the length of the transverse support having at its end means for en aging the transverse support from beneat to prevent swinging of the bricks.

Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland, this 2nd day of June, 1924.

CHARLES J. HUBER. 

